Family loses beloved service dog, child's friend

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) -- For 10-year-old Alex White, golden retriever Hope was a steadfast companion. When he played Joseph in his church's Christmas pageant, Hope was by his side as the donkey. When he played a shepherd the year before, she was there as a sheep.

The specially trained service dog followed Alex everywhere, accompanying him on the school bus, carrying things for him at school, and laying at his feet during orchestra performances.

"I think music would put her to sleep," the fifth-grader said on a recent Friday, sitting in the kitchen of his southeast Topeka home.

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The week before spring break, Hope was killed by a car, robbing Alex, who has a progressive neurological condition, of the friend who used to sleep in his bed at night and help him out during the day.

Early on March 11, as the White family left home to start their day, the 4-year-old dog did something the family says was out of character. She saw the neighbors walking their terrier across the street and broke command, bolting in their direction. A passing car struck Hope. The Whites say it was traveling well above the speed limit.

"She died in my arms," said Mari White, Alex's mother.

To help Alex handle the loss, he spent spring break with his grandmother out of state.

"He's trying to blame himself," White said. "He's 10."

Hope wasn't only a pet, but an aide for Alex, who walks with braces and whose condition, hereditary spastic paraplegia, causes progressive muscle weakness.

Emily Jakle, Alex's teacher at Shawnee Heights Elementary School, said Hope helped Alex turn in papers in class by carrying them to her desk in a tube. At other times, she helped him get up after falling. Hope was trained to stand rigid next to him as a support. She also was learning to open doors.

"She was a part of our classroom," Jakle said.

That is clear in the school yearbook, which includes a portrait of Hope in the same style as the other children's photographs.

Other students knew Hope's role, too, and the news of her death prompted one classmate, Saige Halseth, to start raising money for a new service dog.

Together with her parents, Brie and David, the family has ordered 1,000 rubber wristbands the color of Hope's saddle, with a slogan that Saige suggested, "Always Have Hope."

Saige has started selling the bands for $2 each. She sent letters to the media, wondering if anyone would write about Alex and Hope.

"I was on the bus at Alex's stop, and there was an accident with Hope," Saige wrote. "It was a very sad day."

According to the Halseths, all proceeds will go into a new bank account at Alliance Bank created for that purpose.

The family is contacting restaurants to try to arrange fundraisers and is looking for businesses that might match dollars.

Depending on where the family finds a new service dog, the money could help pay for a dog or would go to a nonprofit that provides one, Mari White said.

White said Hope was donated by KSDS Inc., a nonprofit in Washington, Kan., accredited by Assistance Dogs International. White said the group invests thousands of dollars into specialized training and health checks for service dogs. Hope, for example, had been trained for everything from airports and city buses to crowded school hallways and horseback riding trips. All of that was helpful for Alex's personality and activities, which include horseback riding therapy.

It took more than two years to get Hope, White says. The application process is extensive, and dogs are carefully matched with owners.

A year and a half ago, Alex finally got Hope. The pair spent two weeks in intensive training together, White says, and then Alex took her home.

In the Whites' backyard is a trampoline, one of Alex's favorite places to play, and one of Hope's, who enjoyed playing ball there.

"Usually I'm out there playing," Alex said. "I haven't done that since. It's just way too quiet and lonely."